Ex-teacher, 52, Reaches Step Toward Priesthood

A few years ago, Joseph McGarr decided to take up the calling he had felt tugging at him for almost all of his 52 years.

For having the courage to follow his convictions, McGarr came a step closer to the priesthood yesterday, as he was ordained a deacon in the Diocese of Allentown.

The ceremony had additional significance for McGarr because it was in St. Ursula's Catholic Church, Fountain Hill, his mother's home parish.

McGarr, who admitted to being somewhat nervous and anxious, said becoming a priest is the fulfillment of a lifelong calling.

"The call was there and has been for almost as long as I can remember," he said. "It was through the relationships and friendships I had that I became more aware of the fact that I had revitalized a call.

"I remember as a young boy wanting to be a priest, like all. . . altar boys."

McGarr had been an English teacher for 18 years, 17 of them in the Bethlehem Area School District.

But all through that time, McGarr kept the idea of serving the church in the back of his mind.

He even interrupted his college career in 1956 with a year in St. Thomas' Seminary in Denver.

But McGarr said he didn't stick with it then, because "in retrospect, I just feel I probably was not ready for it."

The urge, however, continued for the graduate of Fountain Hill High School, Class of '51.

"I guess in the back of my mind I had to give it a try again."

In 1979, he was admitted into the diocese's first class of permanent deacons. As he moved closer to his calling, McGarr decided that "I wanted to give myself totally," and he became a candidate for the priesthood in September 1982. He studied at Pope John XXIII National Seminary, Weston, Mass.

"A lot of prayer, time and reflection has gone into this decision," he added.

McGarr also said he was not alone among men who decided to change careers for a life of serving God.

"In my entry class," he said, "the median age was 44."

Among his friends were a U.S. Internal Revenue Service auditor, a postal service employee, a salesman, a military officer, Franciscan brothers, a school psychologist and a retired teacher, he said.

McGarr's path to the priesthood will continue as he finishes up his studies later this year. He plans to reach his goal in June 1986.

Once he is ordained a priest, he will be assigned to a parish somewhere in the Diocese of Allentown.

Before yesterday, however, McGarr's mind was on his ordination as a deacon.

The ordination ceremony is of particular importance for him because his mother is not well, so Bishop Thomas J. Welsh agreed to ordain him in St. Ursula's.

"She's excited about it," McGarr said.

Looking back on his old career, he noted that he "enjoyed teaching tremendously."

But McGarr - who hopes to be Father McGarr in about a year's time

It is "to serve the people of God in whatever capacity" the bishop designates for him.